Designers' identity: Skills' self-perception and expectation in design students

Abstract

Designers' Professional Identity (DPI) combines social- and self-perceptive awareness through which one is able to identify as a designer. However, self-perception can be different from the expectations associated with an ideal designer, especially during education. Thus, this paper reports a survey where self-perceived design skills and expectation are compared at different points in a design education. Findings indicate that changes in mindset modify the alignment between self-perception and expectations, which provides implications for education and for a broader understanding of DPI.